Encompassing 1,610 acres in Collier, North Fayette and Robinson townships, Settlers Cabin Park features an historic log cabin, wave pool, dive pool, shelters, tennis courts, playgrounds, deck hockey rink, and walking and hiking trails.
It was a hot summer day. My family wanted to get out and do something, but something a little different from our normal activities. Enter the wave pool located near the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, it was an easy drive to get to from our home in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We arrived just as the wave pool opened, rented some rafts, and set up our towels on the Astroturf lawn that was the pool deck. Right away we headed into the pool to enjoy swimming in the waves. My husband and son were soon strategizing about the best way to ride the waves, while I just held on to the raft and enjoyed the moment. It was a lot of fun.
When the periodic break in the waves occurred, we headed over to the diving area. There were diving boards of all sizes; from some so low they were almost touching the water, to those super tall concrete diving platforms that before this I had only seen on TV while watching the Olympics. One teenager did climb the few stories to the top, and everyone clapped after he made his brave dive. My son opted to stay closer to the ground on the smaller diving boards, and had a great time.
After a few hours, the wave pool was getting crowded, which was not surprising since it is the most heavily used of the counties three wave pools. We decided to leave the wave pool behind and explore the rest of Settlers Cabin Park. With the park spanning 1,610 acres, there was a lot to see. We drove by the tennis courts and the deck hockey rink. There were even a couple large playgrounds that seemed like a place little kids would love to check out. At the various picnic shelters spread out through the park, several parties were going on. It looked like a great place to host a gathering.
We ended our drive by the cabin that gave the park its name. It’s officially called the Walker-Ewing-Glass Log House, and it was built in the 1780s by a man named John Henry. Later in 1785, Issac and Gabriel Walker acquired the land. It was a nice area to walk around and stretch our legs a bit. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that adjacent to where the cabin is located is the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens. Our family didn’t have time to explore that this time, but it is now on our must do list before the summer is over.
Overall, we had a wonderful day! The wave pool is definitely something my son wants to go back to a few more times. Plus, we didn’t even get a chance this time to explore any of the hiking trails. Now that we have discovered this park, I see our family spending more hot summer days at Settlers Cabin Park.
Settlers Cabin Park is open daily, 8:00 am – sunset. See maps and contact information.
